Union R-XI School District

What better way to celebrate achieving 100 Wildcat WOWs at PDE than with a glow party during specials classes!

Congratulations to all our PDE WOWs!

#Uproud

This week we are excited to have Ashley Gibson, 2nd grade teacher at Prairie Dell Elementary, as our Wildcat of the Week.

Ashley, thank you for taking some time to share a little information about yourself!

#Uproud

Last night at our regularly scheduled March Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the hiring of two new administrators for the 26/27 school year. Mr. Matt Goddard has been hired as the assistant principal at Prairie Dell Elementary and Mrs. Rikki Cummings has been hired as the assistant principal at Union High School.

Mr. Goddard has been a physical education teacher for 13 years (10 of those years here in Union between both Central Elementary and Prairie Dell Elementary). Currently, Mr. Goddard is the assistant principal at Owensville Elementary. Mr. Goddard earned his bachelor's degree from Missouri State University and earned a master’s degree from Missouri Baptist University. Mr. Goddard is nearing completion of his specialist degree which will be completed in June from Northwest Missouri State University. We are excited to welcome Mr. Goddard back to #unionrxi!

Mrs. Rikki Cummings is currently a business teacher at Union High School and has served in that capacity for the past four years. Prior to that, Mrs. Cummings was a careers and leadership teacher, special education paraprofessional and administrative assistant at Union Middle School. Mrs. Cummings earned her bachelor’s degree from Central Methodist University and earned her master’s degree from Northwest Missouri State University. We are excited for Mrs. Cummings to serve UHS in this new capacity!

Mr. Goddard is filling the vacancy of Mrs. Ashley Smith who was recently hired as the 26/27 principal at Prairie Dell Elementary and Mrs. Cummings is filling the vacancy of Mrs. Markie Lampkin who has accepted a job in a neighboring school district.

Please take a moment to congratulate both Mr. Goddard and Mrs. Cummings!

#Uproud

This month we are celebrating our wonderful Board of Education and all they do for our district. Our Board members play a vital role in ensuring we have policies and practices in place for the betterment of both our students and staff. Check out this awesome video put together by each of our schools showing appreciation for our Board of Education: https://youtu.be/_gPxjt6JodA

Thank you to our amazing Board members!

#Uproud

This week we are excited to have Lisa Robinson, special education reading teacher at Union Middle School, as our Wildcat of the Week.

Lisa, thank you for taking some time to share a little information about yourself!

#Uproud

Today we recognize our amazing maintenance workers who ensure everything is working in our district. These team members often work behind the scenes doing anything and everything needed. Thank you, maintenance workers!

#Uproud

This week we are excited to have Dennis Wilson, visual arts teacher at Union High School, as our Wildcat of the Week.

Dennis, thank you so much for taking the time to share a little information about yourself!

#Uproud

Administrator vacancy at Union High School for the 26/27 school year - interested in working at one of the best high schools in the state!? Here is your chance... learn more and apply here:

https://unionrxi.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=833

#Uproud

We are looking for a positive and student-centered assistant principal to join our team at Prairie Dell Elementary for the 26/27 school year.

Learn more and apply here: https://unionrxi.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=834

#Uproud

Last night at our regularly scheduled February Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the hiring of Mrs. Ashley Smith as the 26/27 principal at Prairie Dell Elementary. Mrs. Smith is currently the assistant principal at Prairie Dell Elementary and has been in that role the past two school years. Prior to her current position at PDE, Mrs. Smith was a kindergarten teacher at PDE for two years. Before coming to Union, Mrs. Smith was a kindergarten teacher for 12 years in both St. Clair and Lonedell and a 5th grade teacher in Webb City for one year.

Mrs. Smith earned her bachelor's degree at Pittsburg State University and earned both a specialist and master’s degree from Northwest Missouri State. Mrs. Smith resides in St. Clair with her husband, Cory, and their two children.

This is what Mrs. Smith had to say about serving as the 26/27 principal of Prairie Dell Elementary:

“Prairie Dell is home to me. From my time as a kindergarten teacher to now as an assistant principal, I have grown to love the Prairie Dell family and community. We have the best students and parents and our staff is absolutely amazing. I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue working alongside our PDE team because I know the work we are doing is making a difference in the lives of our students and our community.”

Mrs. Smith is filling the vacancy of Mr. Ryan Klein who was recently appointed as our 26/27 assistant superintendent of operations.

Please take a moment to congratulate Mrs. Smith!

#Uproud

Today we are celebrating School Resource Officer Appreciation Day. Thank you to all our amazing SROs who partner with our district to keep our schools safe. We appreciate you!

#Uproud

This week we are excited to have Billie Hardester, paraprofessional at Central Elementary, as our Wildcat of the Week.

Billie, thank you for taking the time to share a little information about yourself!

#Uproud

Friendly reminder that there's no school on Monday, 2/16/26 in observance of Presidents' Day.

Thank you and #Uproud!

Happy Friday, #unionrxi!

This week we are excited to have Hannah Meyer, Kindergarten teacher, at Beaufort Elementary as our Wildcat of the Week.

Hannah, we certainly appreciate you taking the time to share a little information about yourself.

Have a great Friday and weekend, #unionrxi!

This week we recognize our amazing school counselors who go above and beyond for our students each and every day. Thank you, school counselors! You all are amazing.

#Uproud

Due to inclement weather and unsafe road conditions, all #unionrxi schools are closed on Tuesday, 1/27/26.

Be safe and #Uproud!

Due to inclement weather and unsafe road conditions, all #unionrxi schools are closed on Monday, 1/26/26.

Be safe and #Uproud!